Bill Lipnickey recalls what Bill Houghton said on a drive to the top of Hicks Road overlooking Canandaigua Lake seven years ago when Bill Houghton was 90: “I have been all over the world, and the most beautiful spot on earth is right out my back door.”

Right out his back door, at the home he called Old Place in East Bloomfield, were the friends in his Grimble Road neighborhood and beyond who filled his life, and the Finger Lakes region he loved.

Bill Houghton’s friends and family say he inspired them with his ingenuity and artistry in restoring old homes, his appreciation for architecture and artifacts, and his championing of land preservation. Most of all, they spoke of his generosity in helping others.

A native of New Jersey, William Pringle Houghton lived most of his life in the Finger Lakes region, where he bought, restored, and re-sold more than a dozen historic homes in fulfilling his passion for architectural preservation. A supervisor of automotive manufacture at Rochester Products (GM), he worked as well in naval engine production during World War II.

Mr. Houghton died Sept. 15. He was 97.

“He really appreciated the Finger Lakes,” said Lipnickey, a neighbor of Mr. Houghton’s on Grimble Road. Lipnickey — who shared a love of antiques with Mr. Houghton that extended to their respective businesses, Lipnickey’s E.M.P. Antiques and Mr. Houghton’s Old Place Antiques — said he is grateful to have known Mr. Houghton as a friend and mentor.

Mr. Houghton’s daughter, Charlotte, said her parents, Bill and Marie, bought the home they called Old Place in 1948. Charlotte described the house, an abandoned Greek Revival-style dwelling overlooking a serene valley near Canandaigua, as boasting its original wallpaper, three fireplaces — and no plumbing, electricity, heat or water. As the story goes, a friend remarked, "What in God's name do you want that old place for?"

“The name stuck,” Charlotte said, and her parents “lovingly restored Old Place to its 19th-century glory.”

In 2005, Old Place — originally the Addison Wheeler estate — was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Bill Houghton, whose wife Marie died many years ago, became one of the first in the region to donate a private home and property to the Finger Lakes Land Trust for a conservation easement.

“He put a lot of thought into it; he had done research and knew very well what he wanted to do, about what he wanted the conservation easement to accomplish,” said Sara Kersting, a Land Trust volunteer when Mr. Houghton donated the easement on Old Place with its more than 100 acres of open farmland and forest.

Mr. Houghton’s donation, which was highlighted in local newspapers and Land Trust publications, prompted others to donate their land for preservation. “There were people in the area who followed suit,” said Kersting. “They were directly inspired by what Bill Houghton did — which is really cool.”

Page 2 of 2 - Neighbor Shirley Delong, who met Mr. Houghton when she and her late husband, Dick Delong, bought their first house in 1960, recalled being struck by Mr. Houghton’s charm and talent. Mr. Houghton had restored an old salt box house on Pittsford Mendon Road. Though “it was a lovely old original,” said Shirley, it was not exactly what she had in mind as a bride whose husband was not particularly inclined toward home repair. But Mr. Houghton, who had restored the house with its more than a dozen windows, kitchen with wainscoting and other features, convinced her it was a sound purchase. Shirley said she never regretted buying the place, situated on an acre of land, for $8,500.

“Bill taught us a lot about appreciation of old homes,” Shirley said. Mr. Houghton also taught them how to take care of their home, everything from carpentry to plumbing and electric. “Bill was our consultant,” she said.

Mr. Houghton was also known to kick back and enjoy a Scotch on his porch and hike the woods and hills of the Finger Lakes, something he did well into his old age.

“We hiked all the gorges in Ontario County,” said Patti Simmons, who shared a love of animals and the outdoors with Bill Houghton. She enjoyed as well their many in-depth conversations.

“He was just the easiest person to talk to,” said Simmons, who added she has many pieces of furniture and related valuables in her home that Mr. Houghton made or restored as reminders of their friendship. “I was very lucky to have known him,” she said.

A memorial service for Bill Houghton will take place this Saturday, Nov. 16, at the First Congregational Church of Canandaigua, 58 N. Main St.